There and Back Again
by MattyJ
Summary: "I'm a seventeen year old senior in high school. I'm not really your average teenage guy. Life has been pretty dull over the past few months, until a new neighbor moved in across the street on the first day of school. Between the stress of school, friends, and relationships, a new addition to my village is the last thing I need." -Link Gaiden. Heavy Zelink, Many plot twists
1. The First Day

A/N: Well, welcome everyone! This is my first modern fanfic and only my second Zelda fanfic. I'm writing this alongside my other Zelda one to balance my writing moods. Both will be updated weekly... I hope. Here's some background information for you. Everybody in the story is either 17 or 18 years old and are Seniors in high school.

I certainly hope you enjoy it!

_**There and Back Again**_

_**Chapter 1:**_** The First Day**

"Move it, grandpa!" Today marks the start of a brand new school year and to kick things off, I'm stuck behind some eighty-year old who, for some reason, cannot fathom driving at a speed above twenty-five miles per hour.

"Calm down, man. You can't possibly be excited to get to school, can you?" That's my friend Sheik. He's usually a pretty calm guy. He never stresses or over thinks anything. Sheik's about six feet tall with shaggy blonde hair, like me. Come to think of it, he and I look very similar. I'm a bit shorter than him but other than that, we're pretty identical.

I sighed. "No… but I'd like to get there at some point! We can't be late on the first day. Remember the last three years?" I turned to look at Sheik's face. He sat there deep in thought for a few moments before coming back with a response. "Wow. We've been late every year. That's impressive." Sheik started to chuckle.

"Well, Mr. Gaebora won't think it's funny if he finds out. I'm gonna pass this guy." I shifted gears and accelerated past the old driver. I saw Sheik turn to get a glimpse of the slow driver, but I sped up too quickly. "There, we should be there in like five minutes."

I pulled the car into one of the last remaining parking spaces. We only had three minutes before homeroom ended, so we rushed out of the car and sprinted to our classrooms. Sheik took a left upon entering and I banked right.

I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it. I slowed up just before his homeroom and walked quickly on in as the bell rung. Thank the Goddesses. Maybe this year will be a good one.

"Link Gaiden!"

Or not.

I turned to see my Junior year History teacher, Mr. Gaebora, walking by my room. He's an enormous man, standing at about six and a half feet tall and being equally as wide. He's sported that ugly brown beard and mustache for as long as I could remember.

"Yes, sir?" I always tried to be as polite and respectful as possible to my teachers… but the nice guy approach didn't work on all of them. Mr. Gaebora, for example, was one of the ones that hated nice guys. "You were late… again. Do I need to write up a detention for you on the FIRST day of school? Every year it's the same thing. I patrol my corridor and just as the bell is about to ring, here comes Mr. Gaiden! I must say Mr. Gaiden, it's very irresponsible of you to show up late to school every day. It speaks a lot about your character. You're a lazy child. Back in my day, if you were late, you had to stay after school and wash all of the chalkboards!"

Holy shit. Shut up. I seriously hate when he does this. Every time I'm late, he just has to talk and talk and TALK! He did this to me on the last day of school in sophomore year and I missed my bus home because of his rambling! Oh crap, is he still talking?

"… and if you talked back to a teacher, oh don't get me-" I couldn't take it anymore. "Mr. Gaebora! Look, I'm sorry. I'll really try to get here on time this year." I watched him mull it over for a few seconds before he replied. "Alright, Gaiden. But I'm watching you! Always watching!" He did one of those lame "I'm watching you" maneuvers with his hands and then walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, I sprinted to my class. Great, I was late for school and now I'm going to be late for first period. Maybe this just isn't my year.

I had English to kick off the year. I got there a few minutes after the bell rang, but after explaining the situation to my teacher, she quickly rolled her eyes and laughed. Even she didn't like Mr. Gaebora.

"Just pick a seat out and relax, Link. It's only the first day! There's no need to be stressing yourself out so much." She smiled again and motioned for me to take a seat.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mrs. Farore." I turned to find a seat but found only one available. Sheik was with my other friends, Mido and Mikau, but all of the seats near them were taken. I guess I have no choice.

I walked over, put my bag on the floor, and sat down. I was sitting with the quiet kids. Most of them were girls. Girls. My luck with girls these past few years has been horrible. I had one girlfriend, Ilia, but she was an absolute witch. She always wanted to talk about herself and we fought constantly. I ended up breaking up with her a few weeks before the Freshmen-Sophomore homecoming. That was a bad idea. She literally attacked me when I told her she was going to the dance alone. I still don't get what the big deal was. It's just a dance. Why does it matter whether you go with somebody or not? Maybe I'm just not cut out for the whole relationship thing.

Class went by slow despite it being a shorter period due to the day being arranged so we'd have all of our classes. I struggled through the day by either daydreaming or talking to friends. Nothing interesting ever happened on the first day, so there wasn't any point in paying attention.

After the final bell rang, I walked to my locker to put my books away and Sheik caught up with me. He didn't have a car because his parents couldn't afford it, so I drove him home every day. They tried to give me gas money but I just couldn't bring myself to accept any.

"Yo Link! How was your last class?" I closed my locker and turned to greet my friend. "Pretty boring. Ancient Hylian Language isn't exactly riveting with excitement." We both chuckled a bit and started towards the exit. "How was your last period?" Sheik let out a long groan and threw his arms in the air. "I don't understand why I need to learn Calculus! I don't intend on going into something Math related when I go to college, so why do I have ot take it?" I simply nodded. I completely agree with him. If you don't need it, why take it? But I can never make sense of the educational system.

We walked out the exit and set a course for the student parking lot. We quickly spotted my old car at the back of the lot. "We really need to get here earlier. This walk is going to kill me every day." I laughed. Sheik was a pretty athletic and in-shape kid, but he was so lazy. I am too I guess. I always sleep in when I can, I procrastinate my homework, and I haven't even started to think about my future.

We got to my car, buckled in, and departed for Sheik's house. He lived about three miles from the school and was on the way to my house. I turned on the radio to break any silence, but nothing good was on so I switched it back off. "So Sheik, how goes the girl hunt?"

Sheik let out another long groan and sagged his shoulders. I guess not so good. "I've been trying to get Midna to like me for the longest time. I just don't think she's interested." Jeez he's still on Midna? He's liked her since Sophomore year when she moved to East Castle Town. "Midna? Still? Dude, I think you just need to move on. You can't make somebody like you… it kinda just has to happen." I was speaking out of experience. My relationship with Ilia was completely forced. I heard that she was practically in love with me and I felt bad. So I decided to "do the right thing" and go out with her to make her happy. What I didn't realize, though, was that she would be a controlling, dictator girlfiend. She didn't let me make any decisions about anything whether it be about where we went out to eat or whether we watched this movie or that movie. It was horrendous. Ending that relationship was one of the best decisions of my life.

"Trust me, man, I've tried to. There's just something about her. She gets me better than anyone else." Sheik turned to look out the window. Is he serious? "Dude, you've talked to her like ten times at most! She doesn't even know who you are! If you really can't move on, then try to be her friend at least. Friendships make great relationships sometimes." I left it at that since Sheik looked like he was lost in thought. Well, he wasn't going to be doing much tonight.

We arrived at his place about three minutes after we stopped chatting. I pulled into the short driveway and unlocked the doors. "Well, I'll see you tomorrow at 6:15, man." Sheik stopped getting out of the car and shot me a confused look. "6:15? We usually leave at 6:40!" I knew he wouldn't be thrilled about it but it was necessary. "Look man, I'm sick of getting in trouble with Mr. Gaebora. If we get there early, we can't possibly be late, right?" It seemed to make sense in my mind yet, I still couldn't help thinking that something would cause us to be late again.

Sheik let out a long groan. He'd been doing that a lot today. "Cheer up, man. Everything's gonna be fine. Trust me." I shot him a quick smirk and waited for him to get out of the car before driving away. There drive home was uneventful except for a few police cars passing by me for whatever reason. My heart always skips a beat whenever I hear the wail of the authority's sirens. I'm a fantastic driver, but I still get nervous that I'm doing something wrong.

I pulled into my driveway around 2:45 P.M. I only received contracts from teachers that my legal guardians had to sign, so I didn't really have any homework. When I walked in the door, I was greeted by loud screams produced by my little sister, Aryll. "You were late to school today, Big Brother! Dad got a call from your school!" Are you kidding me? I thought Gaebora and I straightened that out this morning! I shrugged off the nagging of my little sister and walked to the kitchen where I found my Uncle Rusl. Rusl was a tad bit taller than me, being about 5' 11". He sported the same color blonde hair as me and wore a thin mustache across the sides of his upper lip. He'd always been a kind and compassionate man.

After my parents died, he took my sister and me in despite not having a stable source of income or wife to help him. I never really understood why he wanted us until about a year ago. He'd never married, as far as I know, and probably wanted a family of his own. He's been an amazing guardian to my sister and me, but I'll never be able to call him Dad. Aryll was too young to remember our father, so she doesn't have as much difficulty accepting Rusl as our new father. I guess I just hold on to the past too much.

"Howdy, Link! Got a call from your school today." Rusl put down the dishes he was cleaning and folded his arms. "Look, Uncle, I can expl-" He cut me off before I could even start and gave me a small shove. "I know what it's about, Link, and I can honestly say that I couldn't care less. You were late. Big deal." I smiled happily. Rusl always understood us. I think he was a bit easier on us since we'd lost our parents. He seemed to want to be close to us and I think he was afraid to get mad at us in fear that we'd rebel and leave him. Nevertheless, he was great.

"Now, go upstairs and get changed. You have some farming to do before you have to take your sister to soccer practice!" Rusl grabbed the dishes again and continued his previous duties. Farm alone? That didn't happen very often. Not that it was a big deal; I could handle the farm by myself easily. But, what was Rusl going to be doing?

"I've got to step out around 3:15 and head to Castle Town. It's a bit of a drive from here, and this is really important." We lived in the town of Kakariko. There were only a couple hundred residents, so it was quiet and peaceful most of the time. We're about 45 minutes southeast of Castle Town, the capital of Hyrule and the busiest city in the world. That's also where Sheik and I went to school. Aryll went to school at Kakariko Elementary still. She was only 8 years old and in 4th grade.

"What's so important that you have to leave in the middle of the day?" Rusl worked from 6-2 every day and always went straight from work to pick up Aryll at school. Rusl is a mailman during the day and a farmer when he gets home. He's been selling his produce for over 30 years now to multiple vendors in both Castle Town and Clock Town over in Termina. So he didn't actually work from 6-2. He really worked from about 6 A.M.-7 P.M., not including his fatherly duties to us. Luckily, I wasn't much work anymore. I helped on the farm and could make dinner whenever he was too tired. Aryll was much more trouble. I felt bad leaving him to go out on some nights because she'd always need help with homework or something else. Rusl couldn't say no either. He wanted to appear as though he could do everything when in reality, he was just one man. One man trying to support his family.

Rusl turned and gave me a quick smirk. "I'll tell you tomorrow. For now, it's a secret to everybody." I sighed and walked out of the kitchen and up to my room. He's always enjoyed his secrets.

I got up to my room and grabbed some farming clothes from my dresser. I whipped on a pale yellow sleeveless shirt and some ripped up old jeans. After I finished, I walked back downstairs and out the back door to the garden. All I need to do is rip up some growing weeds and water a few of the crops. It shouldn't take too long.

I was working for about an hour and a half when I heard a lot of commotion start up at one of the houses near me. There were six or seven people walking in and out of the house. What's going on? I stopped ripping up roots and walked on over to the edge of my yard to get a better look.

I saw a small moving truck and workers carrying furniture into the house. New neighbors? I don't remember hearing about a home sale in the village, especially one so close to my house. Whatever.

I shrugged it off and walked back to the crops. Rusl will probably want us to welcome them to the village tomorrow. I didn't see any kids, only a few workers and a rather large man with white hair.

I kept at it for twenty more minutes before heading inside to shower. Luckily, Aryll's practice was only a few minutes away. That's the plus side of living in a small village. Everything's located close to each other no matter where you are.

I threw on a forest green T-shirt and some newer jeans before heading to Aryll's room. 'You ready? Practice is in ten minutes." I heard her rustling around in her room. After a minute, she appeared with her soccer outfit on and cleats in hand. "Ready!" I couldn't help but smile. She's always been a fun kid.

We went out to my car, got in, and set off for the soccer field. I made sure to go extra slow when I came to pass the new neighbors house. They weren't the house behind mine, but the one to the left of that one. The movers seemed to be finishing up since I saw one of them shaking the hand of the man who appeared to be moving there. I let out a light sigh.

Just another dull neighbor.

Aryll's practice ended around seven. I wonder if Rusl is home yet. He said he had something really important to do, so probably not.

"Big Brother, are you making dinner tonight?" I couldn't stop myself from smiling. She loved when I cooked. I never made any vegetables or forced her to eat anything 'disgusting' as she said it. "Yes, I'm making dinner tonight. I'm thinking about making breakfast for dinner. That sound good?" I knew the answer. Aryll loved breakfast for dinner. "YES! That's my favorite!" She started kicking her feet up and down in the back. She could always make me laugh.

We pulled into the driveway a minute or two later and walked inside. I cooked up some eggs and made sure there was plenty of extra bacon for Aryll since that was her favorite part. After dinner, Aryll went to watch some TV while I cleaned up a bit. I finished cleaning the dishes and the table, so I decided to head outside for some fresh air.

It was getting dark now. It'd been getting darker earlier even though it wasn't actually Autumn yet. I climbed up on top of the garage and propelled myself up to the top of the house. I leaned up against the chimney to balance myself. This was my 'spot'. I came here for everything. Whether I am sad, angry, depressed, or whatever, this spot can always calm me down. I like feeling the wind blow through my hair. I like how peaceful it always is up here. I started coming here right after Mom and Dad died. I missed them and couldn't understand why they were gone. So, one day I ran up here and just cried for an hour or so. It seemed to calm me down, so I continued to do it every day until I felt comfortable enough to accept my parent's passing.

I let out a relaxing a sigh. I looked over to our new neighbor's house for any signs of activity. Everything seemed to be all settled now. After seeing nothing interesting, I turned my head and closed my eyes for a little bit.

Thirty minutes later, I heard Rusl pull into the driveway. It was already nine. What kept him so long?

He got out of his car and started walking to the front door. By force of habit, he glanced up to the chimney. He knew I liked it up here and would always check to make sure I was okay.

"You alright, Link?" I knew that was coming. "Hey Rusl. Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Just needed some time to relax a bit. I'll be down in a few minutes." He always got worried when I was up here. When I was younger, he'd threaten to punish me if I didn't get down. I can't blame him, it is pretty dangerous. It always worried him, but he's learned that I know what I'm doing. I've been doing it for about eight years now, so I know what I'm doing.

"Alright. No rush! I'll be in my chair." He waved and walked in inside. Every night after he finished farming, he'd head to his chair. It was kind of like his own roof to sit on. We each had out spot. Maybe that's why he's let me sit up here for so many years now.

I finished up my relaxation time and moved to the ledge where the house met the garage. I leaped down and used my momentum to jump onto the ground. Perfect, as always.

I walked inside and went up to my room after grabbing a snack. I sat down at my computer and watched hilarious videos until I could barely keep my eyes open anymore. I sprawled out on my bed, not even caring that I was still in my regular clothes. As usual though, I couldn't fall asleep. My mind was more creative than the Goddesses themselves at night time. My thoughts varied from how school was going to go tomorrow to thinking about past relationships. While I have Rusl, Aryll, and my friends, I want somebody to be there for me… and me alone. Someday, I hope.

Someday.

A/N: I know this was a lot of background fluff. The whole story won't be like that, so don't worry. I'm going to be getting into Link and Zelda's relationship extremely soon, so don't go anywhere! Reviews are incredibly appreciated, for they make me want to write the next chapter. Thank you!


	2. The New Girl

Thank you for the great reviews! I loved them all and to the person who asked, yes, the title of this story is a reference to The Hobbit. There isn't a particular reason; it just fit the story well. Well, here's chapter two! Your reviews are what motivated me to keep it going, so keep it up! Thank you!

_**There and Back Again**_

**_Chapter 2:_ The New Girl**

I woke up to the deafening screeching of my alarm clock. I was about to hit the snooze button, but I remembered that I couldn't be late today. So, I dragged myself out of bed and into the shower. My morning routine wasn't too long. Get up, shower, get dressed, brush my teeth, grab my lunch, and then get in my car. It usually took me about twenty minutes to get out of the house, but it also usually took me thirty minutes to just get up. Today though, I was ahead of my schedule. I walked downstairs to grab my lunch and found my Uncle Rusl asleep in his chair. Normally, he'd be working right now. But before I went to bed last night, he came in my room and told me he had the day off tomorrow. This was getting weird. First he takes a strange trip to Castle Town and now he has the day off? He never has work off. Something's going on… and I'm going to find out.

I opened my car door and stepped in. I turned the keys to start the engine, buckled up, put some music on, and left for Sheik's house. I pulled into his driveway a few minutes earlier than I told him to be ready, so he refused to come out until that time came. Good old, stubborn Sheik. At 6:15, he finally came outside.

"Good morning, Sheik!" I said that with a hint of excitement in my voice just to piss him off. "This sucks shit. Remind me again why we have to leave so damn early?" Well he wasn't thrilled to be here. He had noticeable circles under his eyes; probably from a lack of sleep. I agree with him, this does suck shit. But I can't keep getting to school late.

"Because, man, we can't keep being late." I backed out of his driveway and set off for the school. "We? I'm never late anymore! You're the one who's always late!" He was right, but I think he forgot who gave him rides every day. "Did you forget that I drive you to and from school every day free of charge?" Sheik sighed and let his shoulders drop. He was defeated. "No." I chuckled and turned to look at the road again. "That's what I thought."

We arrived at the school at 7:03. Perfect. I'll be okay today. We both got out of the car and made our way up to the school. I was able to snag one of the closer parking spots today, so that'll be nice at the end of the day.

While I was walking down the hallway to my homeroom, I walked right past Mr. Gaebora. He shot me a disgusted look. He was probably upset that he couldn't bust me today. I chuckled and sat in my homeroom until it was time for first period.

The first half of the day went okay. We began to actually learn the material today so that was disappointing. I don't know how I managed to stay awake during Ancient Hylian Language. I was drifting off into sleep towards the end of the class but luckily, I was saved by the bell.

Lunchtime. My favorite part of the day. It was the only time I could talk to my friends without worrying about getting yelled at. I walked over to the table we usually sit at, which was in the far left corner of the lunch room. There I sat with Sheik, Mido and his girlfriend Saria, and Mikau, and his girlfriend Lulu. The only bad part about lunch was that it always reminded me that I didn't have a girlfriend. I usually just shrugged it off but today, it was bothering me a little bit.

"Hey Link!" Sheik always called me over since I was almost always the last one to get there. Everyone else greeted each other and we sat. "So, how's the real first day been treatin' you, Link?" Everyone looked at Sheik in a confused way. "Real first day?" Sheik dropped his shoulders and sighed. "As in the first day we actually do something! Jeez guys, it wasn't that hard." Everyone exchanged glances and laughed a bit.

Mido decided to pipe in. "Hey Mikau, isn't your two year anniversary coming up?" Sheik's face went white, probably because he'd completely forgotten. Lulu sat there and stared him down. "Yeah Mikau, isn't it?" Lulu was used to this sort of thing even though it still irritated her. Mikau was an extremely forgetful person. He'd make plans with four different people to go to four different places and he's always end up having to cancel his plans with three of the four seeing how he couldn't be in four places at once.

"Uhhh… yup! It's coming up in a little bit actually." Mikau answered Mido nervously. It was always fun to watch Sheik get flustered, but I wasn't really in the mood to laugh about it. Hearing about their two year anniversary just made me mad. I know it's selfish, but I just can't help but get annoyed at how lucky my friends are. Mikau's been with Lulu for two years and Mido's been with Saria for three. It's so unfair.

Lulu spawned a small smirk. "So…. what day exactly?" She knew she had him. Mikau couldn't remember his own birthday never mind his anniversary. He sighed. "Fine… you got me." Lulu laughed in victory and gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "I knew you wouldn't remember, but it's okay." Mikau rubbed his hand across where Lulu had kissed him and blushed a bit. "Oh, and it's the 21st. So you better start working on your gift!" Mikau's head dropped on the table. Everyone else laughed and I chuckled.

"What're you upset about? At least you have a girlfriend! Link over here hasn't even ever had a REAL girlfriend! The ladies just don't like him!" Wow, that stung a bit. I turned and just glared at Sheik. Sometimes, he acted like a real tool and today, he was acting like a huge tool. I could've brought up his problems with Midna, but I wasn't going to stoop to his level.

Saria chipped in. "Man Sheik, wasn't that kind of mean?" Saria always had a soft spot for me. We'd been friends since before my parents died, back when I lived in Ordon. She was really upset when I left and we couldn't be friends again until we both got a phone. Before she had Mido, she'd tell me all of her problems. She was sort of a little sister to me despite her being a few months older than me.

"Nah, Link here knows I'm just playing. Right, man?" He wrapped his arm around me and shook me a bit.

I looked down at the floor. "…Right."

I lied.

That comment really hurt. It sucked enough that I didn't have a girlfriend, so being reminded about it only made things worse. I would've told him off, but I didn't want to make the rest of lunch awkward. Also, I still have to drive him home. There's nothing worse than a silent car ride.

I think Saria could tell that I was upset. I always looked at the floor when something was bothering me, so she definitely noticed that. After lunch, I was the first to get up and walk out of the room. Well, I didn't really walk out. I kind of stormed out. What was he thinking? I know he's an idiot sometimes but seriously? That was such a shitty thing to say to somebody.

I walked down the halls to my last class of the day, Calculus. Great. I got in and took a seat in the back left corner of the room. I didn't want to be bothered right now.

The teacher walked in along with the rest of the class. She introduced herself as Mrs. Din and asked each student to stand up and introduce themselves to the class. What was this, 1st grade?

She started with my row. Four kids went before it got to me. I stood up when signaled to. I cleared my throat. "Umm… I'm Link Gaiden… and I don't really know what else to say." I sat down sort of awkwardly. I've always been shy. I didn't like meeting new people or talking with strangers. Even though I knew most of the kids in my class, I didn't like any of them. Mikau, Saria, and Sheik were my only friends that took Calculus, but they were in the other class so I was all by myself.

I heard a few more kids go before the class was interrupted by a knock on the door. Mrs. Din sighed, figuring it was a late student.

She was right. A young girl walked in and appeared to be out of breath. I didn't look though. My mind was on other things.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I'm new here and I keep getting lost." New? I raised my head to see her.

My heart stopped.

She was beautiful. No, scratch that. She was gorgeous.

Mrs. Din smiled and motioned for her to take a seat. She smiled beautifully and looked for an open seat. She had golden blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and a smile that could mesmerize anyone for hours. I didn't even notice that she was walking towards me. I looked to the seat next to me.

It was empty.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" Even her voice was beautiful. I looked up and down between her and the seat a few times before realizing what was happening. I blinked a few times stupidly. " Umm… no, no, not at all!" Dammit Link. Don't sound excited!

"Great!" she smiled and sat down excitedly. She took out her notebook and prepared for class. I couldn't stop myself from staring at her.

"Excuse me, miss?" I turned to see Mrs. Din talking to the new girl. "Could you introduce yourself?" I was so lost in her beauty that I'd completely forgotten she hadn't introduced herself yet.

"Oh, right! Umm… my name is Zelda Harkinian and my Dad and I just moved here from Labrynna and yes, my Dad is the man running for governor." She sat back down and went back to preparing herself. Everybody started to whisper amongst each other.

She's the daughter of Gaepora Harkinian? That man's been publicizing his election all year. I guess things are looking good for him so he decided to move here.

Class went by too quickly. We learned about limits and how to graph them, but I was too preoccupied with something else. I wanted to talk to this Zelda girl but I couldn't muster the courage to. She seemed really nice, smart, and on top of all that, she was drop dead gorgeous. I sighed. It'd be a miracle for her to even say one word to me again.

I left class with my mind locked on Zelda. Despite me hating what Sheik had said, he was right. I have not ever had a real girlfriend and I am horrible at talking to girls. I'm probably getting excited for nothing.

I walked out to my car where Sheik was yelling at me to unlock it. I sighed and did as he asked. We both got in and set off for home.

"So, how was Calculus, man?" I didn't want to tell him about Zelda. He'd only give me pessimistic advice and tell me that I had no shot with her. "It was fine. Pretty boring for the most part." Sheik seemed to be staring at me but I refused to tear my eyes from the road. "Boring? I heard from probably seven different guys that soon to be Governor Harkinian's daughter is in your class. And she's hot!"

Dammit. There goes any chance that I had with her. Every single, and maybe even committed, guy in the school is going to be fighting for her love.

"Oh, yeah I forgot about that."

"Forgot? HOW?!" Have you seen her Facebook picture? She's smokin'!" This conversation was only making things worse.

"Oh, yeah, I guess she's cute." I couldn't admit my real feelings about her to him. He wouldn't stop laughing at me for weeks. Maybe Saria could help me.

"Kinda?! Dude, are you straight?" I shot him a death glare and he backed off. "Okay, okay! No need to get so hostile."

The rest of the ride consisted of him rambling about his successes with Midna today. She'd began talking to him a little bit and they seemed to be turning into friends. While I'm happy for him, I was too annoyed with him to care at the moment.

I dropped him off around 2:40 P.M. and drove home. I walked in my front door and went straight up the stairs.

"Link? Was that you?" Rusl called out for me but I just wanted to be alone right now. I needed to think. I shut my door and hit my bed face down. I decided to just sit there for a few minutes, hoping my frustration with Sheik would go away.

There was a knock at the door. Crap.

"Big Brother, are you okay? Daddy wants to know if you're okay!" I need to suck it up. The last thing I want to do is upset my family. I got up and opened the door.

"Yeah, Aryll, I'm fine." I forced a reassuring smile and followed her downstairs. Rusl was cleaning the dishes as usual. "Howdy Link! You okay?" I smiled. He always greeted me by saying 'howdy.' I guess it was because he was raised on a ranch. "I'm fine. I just wanted to put my books upstairs before saying hello. How was work?" I knew he enjoyed me asking about his job. He didn't have the most outstanding job in the world, so it reassured him that we were okay with that when we asked about it. He started chuckling. What was so funny?

"I stayed home today, Link! But I appreciate you asking me. How'd school go?" I mentally slapped myself for forgetting he stayed home. Whatever. It was no big deal. School on the other hand, that was a big deal. The last thing I wanted to do was talk about how school went, so I decided to lie to him. He didn't need to know about this dream girl of mine.

"It went alright. We started to actually learn material today so it was less fun than yesterday." I walked over and started to help him with the dishes. "What'd you do all day?" Rusl put down his portion of the dishes and walked over to medium-sized plastic container. "I baked a cake for our new neighbors! I figured they deserve a proper welcome to the village, so we're going to go greet them in about twenty minutes!" Just as I thought. Uncle Rusl was too kind to let a new neighbor go unnoticed.

"Alright, cool. I'm going to change my shirt real quick then be back to help with these dishes some more." I walked back up to my room and threw on a short-sleeve forest green T-shirt. I had a thing for the color green. My Uncle's always said it's because I lived in Ordon and loved the forest when I was younger.

I emerged from my room and walked back down to the kitchen to help Rusl. He was in the same place, scrubbing away over the sink. I assisted him for around ten minutes before we got Aryll and departed for our new neighbor's house.

The entire walk over there I was trying to tell myself that it wouldn't be strangely awkward like it usually was. We've gotten new neighbors before and the greeting is always a bit weird. The new neighbor will always invite you into their house, but you don't really want to go in since you were just being polite and… ugh… whatever. Hopefully this won't be as bad as every other time.

We walked on up to the big, red front door and rang the doorbell. I was holding the cake and Uncle Rusl was planning on doing the talking.

The door began to open and a large, white haired man came into view. He looked oddly familiar. "Ah, what do we have here?" He began to laugh, obviously knowing what it was.

"Howdy neighbor! My family and I just wanted to welcome you to the village. I hope that's alr-" Rusl was cut off by Aryll. "We baked you a cake!" Rusl stopped what he was saying and laughed. The man laughed along with him and welcomed us inside. This was going better than normal.

We walked inside and made our way to the kitchen after taking our shoes off. The house was really nice on the inside. There were abstract paintings, vases, and flowers everywhere. Man, one of those vases is probably more expensive than our house.

"Sweetie! Could you come down for a minute? We have guests!" The man had a strong, bellowing voice. I recognized that voice too. Who was this man? And why was he living in Kakariko of all places?

"Who's here, Daddy?"

I turned to the sound of the voice.

I dropped the cake.

Holy shit.

"Link!" Rusl came running over to me, but I didn't notice. I couldn't tear my eyes from the girl before me. It was Zelda.

Zelda is my new neighbor.

* * *

A/N: I thought about continuing after he realized it was Zelda, but I decided it'd be better to just leave you all hanging. If you didn't guess that Zelda was going to be his neighbor from the beginning, then I'm surprised. I think I made it pretty obvious lol

Anyways, please review! I got a good amount last time and need them to keep going! I have chapter three completely written in my head. I just need to type it. Thank you!


	3. Days on the Roof

Thanks again for all the reviews! I really love this story so far so I'm going to stick with it for at least 10 chapters. Overall, it'll probably be a 15+ story if it gets popular enough. So tell your friends!

_**There and Back Again**_

**Chapter 3: Days on the Roof**

That couldn't have gone worse. That greeting went from being good to shit in a matter of seconds. Goddesses, I'm such an idiot! Why'd I have to drop the freakin' cake? I made myself look like a total dork! I couldn't help myself from punching everything in the room. I needed to scream into something.

The rest of the greeting was just awkward. Gaepora went from being this kind man to a total assface the second that cake hit the ground. Rusl tried to apologize, but Gaepora wouldn't have it. He was too concerned about his scratched floor and dirty rug. Zelda just stared at me with her mouth wide open. She must think I'm an idiot. Her Dad called me one for crying out loud! Rusl tried to stick up for me but Gaepora simply threw us out of his house before I had a chance to speak. I don't even know what came over me.

That's a lie.

Of course I know what came over me. Zelda showed up and my heart stopped, just like in Calculus today.

"DAMMIT!" I punched the wall again.

I took a few deep breaths and decided to go outside. I walked past Rusl and Aryll, but they didn't make any advances to talk to me. I'm sure Rusl had figured out by now why I was acting so weird when I got home. He definitely put the pieces together.

I walked around to the side of the garage and propelled myself up. I leaped on top and climbed up to the chimney. I rested my back and head against it and shut my eyes.

I need to calm down.

I fell asleep for about an hour before the sound of some thunder clouds woke me up. I blinked a few times, trying to get my vision back, and then looked around a bit. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw somebody walking on the sidewalk towards my house. Once she got a little bit closer, I could tell instantly who it was.

It was Zelda.

I stood up now, ready to jump off the roof and hide from her but as soon as I went to jump, a large clap of thunder startled me. The next thing I knew, I was falling and could only hear the sound of Zelda screaming in terror.

I woke up in my bed. I checked the clock.

7:45 P.M.

"What happened?" While I said it to myself, I heard somebody else in the room answer me. "You finally fell off that goddessesdamned roof. I knew you would one day!" He threw his arms up in the air at the end of his sentence, then put them down and started chuckling. "You sure are lucky, Link."

Lucky?

"You managed to fall on the pile of mulch I'd just ordered. If it hadn't been for that, you could be in critical condition right now." Holy shit. First of all, I'm saying that too much. Second, I could've died. All because I saw Zelda and just had to run. Wait.

Zelda!

"What happened to Zelda? She was walking towards our house when I fell!" Rusl laughed for a few seconds. "I was wondering when that was going to come up. After your reaction to her at the Harkinian's house, I knew you had a thing for her." Dammit, I was right. He did put it all together.

"She's downstairs, playing with Aryll." She was playing with Aryll? You can't play with Aryll without losing your mind. That girl was so independent and competitive that you couldn't beat her in anything without her throwing a hissy fit.

"I must say, Link, she was very worried about you. I heard this deafening scream, ran outside, and found you lying in a pile of mulch. Come to think of it… why were you unconscious?"

That was a very good question. I hadn't hit my head. Maybe the combination of seeing Zelda coming to my house and thunder was too much for me. Whatever. I appear to be fine.

"Anyways, you should come down and talk to her." He put his hand on my shoulder. I opened my mouth, about to say something, but I didn't know what to say. I can't talk to her. If she didn't think I was an idiot before, she definitely thinks so now.

"I think you should just tell her to go home. I'm tired." Rusl raised his head. I know this wasn't the right thing to do, but I couldn't face her right now. He got up and nodded his head. "I understand that it'll be embarrassing to talk to her Link…" Dammit Rusl. How do you always know what I'm thinking? "…but you will have to eventually." At that, he left me alone.

I got up and moved to my window to see if I could catch a glimpse of Zelda leaving. I was there for a few minutes before I saw her. I could see her say thank you to my Uncle, then she turned and walked away.

I sighed heavily.

It was now 10:15 P.M. and everyone in my house was asleep. Rusl probably had work tomorrow, so he checked out around 10. Aryll was young, so she was out by 9. I left my room and into the bathroom to grab two towels. I left the bathroom and went outside, back to my spot on the roof. I wasn't going to fall again. I put the towels down on the roof itself and up against the chimney so I wouldn't get my pants and shirt wet. It'd rained for a few hours after my fall, so everything was at least a little wet still.

How was I going to solve this? Oh, that's right, I wasn't. Why do I even like this girl so much? I've seen her three times! It's not like I know anything about her!

My mind drifted to something Rusl had told me when I was fourteen.

"Link, there will come a time in your life when you want to have somebody. Not a friend, but somebody to spend your life with. You may go through girl after girl to find this person, but when you do, you'll know it. I can't explain the sensation, but you'll feel as though your thoughts are being controlled by someone else. You'll feel happy around this person after you get over the initial shock of seeing her. It's a feeling that every man experiences in his life, and it's the greatest feeling in the world."

I remember asking him about the girl he experienced it with, but he changed the topic before giving me an answer.

I was starting to dose off when I heard a noise below me. My head darted to the location of the sound, but I found nobody.

Must've been the wind.

I found myself falling asleep again. The events of today have just worn me out. What's the point of even bothering with Zelda? Her Dad, and soon to be Governor, wants my head on his mantle. I won't be able to come within ten feet of her without her Dad jumping me.

I let out a long sigh.

Suddenly, I heard that noise again. I got up and made my way over to the edge of the garage. I began to peek over when…

"Zelda?!" I nearly tumbled off of the roof again. I quickly regained my footing and balanced myself. Why the hell was she trying to get on my roof?

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to scare you!" She quickly climbed the rest of the way up and made sure I was okay.

Was I dreaming?

I led her over to my spot and laid out a towel for her. "What are you going to sit on?" Hmmm. So was she expecting this conversation to take a while? "Don't worry about me. I can change my clothes when I get inside if I have to." I gave her a light smile. At least I was talking to her.

"I guess I should explain why I'm here." She looked over to me for reassurance and continued. "I… I want to apologize…"

What?

"…for my father's behavior. He's been a real jerk lately and I promise that he didn't mean what he said back there." Didn't mean what he said? He called me an idiot! You don't just say that to somebody, and then tell them you didn't mean it.

"Look, don't worry about it." I could hardly face her. I was lucky before to have said two complete sentences without fumbling over my words. It started to hit me that she was really sitting next to me.

"But I am worrying about it. You were just trying to do a nice thing and my father blew up on you!" She was staring sadly at me now. I could feel her looking at me. "No, I did deserve it. It was incredibly rude of me to do such a thing." Normally I'm extremely optimistic and positive, but today I just felt like shit. Everything was going the wrong way.

"No, you didn't… but either way, I hope you can forgive my father." I still couldn't look at her. No matter how hard I tried, I was too scared. I'd get lost in her eyes again and end up on falling off the roof… again.

"Well, that's really all I wanted to say. Again, I'm really sorry." Zelda got up and started to leave. Come on, Link, say something!

"Zelda," She quickly spun around to meet my eyes. "Thank you." I gave her a reassuring smile. I didn't want her to worry.

She smiles brightly. "Of course." I picked myself up and helped her off of the roof. I lead her to the street. "Do you want a ride? It's getting chilly out." She could obviously just walk home, but I had to try.

"Oh, I couldn't ask you to do that. I'll just walk." She smiled and began to walk away. I decided to not argue with her. I didn't want to come off as creepy after all. "But, thank you, Link." After that, she started to head towards her home.

I just stood there smiling dumbly. My first talk with her… hopefully, there will be many more to come.

I walked in side with a slight kick in my step and went up to my room. I got changed into my night clothes and sprawled out on my bed. Everything felt a bit warmer right now. I ended up falling asleep thinking of my conversation with Zelda.

The next morning was rough. I had a lot of trouble falling asleep, so I didn't get much rest. I was late to get Sheik and we ended up getting to school just minutes before the first bell rang. The first half of my day consisted of English, Physics, and two pointless electives. Like yesterday, I was having a hard time staying awake in class. At noon we went to lunch.

I walked into the cafeteria and scoped out our spot. To my surprise, I found Saria, Lulu, and Midna sitting with another girl. It was strange enough seeing Midna sit with us, but who was this new girl? I was pretty sure that I'd already figured it out in my head; I just refused to believe it.

Mikau came up behind me and gave me a pat on the back. "You see who's sitting with us?" I looked over, pretending that I hadn't noticed already. "It's that new girl… uhhh Zelda, I think. Saria and Lulu have taken a real liking to her. Lulu wouldn't stop talking about how she'd made a new friend yesterday.

I nodded my head. "Great." My response confused Mikau. I'm sure he was expecting me to be excited since the new hot girl was friends with our friends now. "Whoa, calm down there, Link! Don't get too excited now!" I rolled my eyes. I needed to come up with an excuse.

"Look man, I've met Zelda already. I just don't want to get my hopes up for nothing." He shrugged his shoulders and we began walking towards the table. Sheik and Mido met up with us, and shockingly, Sheik instantly struck up a conversation with Midna. Since when could he do that? He's barely said anything to her in his life never mind have a conversation with her!

I sat down and said hello to everyone including Zelda. I just need to stay calm. Don't get down on yourself. Stay confident. Optimism is the best mind set.

"So Zelda, do you realize that every guy in this school wants to do you?"

Shit.

Why the hell would Sheik say something like that? Zelda just sort of stared at him blankly. The others, excluding Saria, broke out in laughter. "What? It's the truth. Every guy stares at you as you walk by them."

"I highly doubt that." Zelda smiled and continued eating. "I'm the daughter of a political candidate. I doubt any guy in this school has the guts to face my father when they walk up to my house.

That couldn't be truer, especially after my less than stellar run in with him yesterday.

I decided to pipe in. "Stop pressuring the poor girl, Sheik. I'm sure she doesn't want to hear about those kind of things from her friends." Sheik shook it off like it was no big deal, but Zelda looked at me and smiled. "Thank you, Link." My face reddened. I quickly said "You're welcome" and lowered my head. I stole a glance at Saria and found her looking at me quizzically.

She knows.

I'll have to text her about everything tonight. Maybe she can help.

"So, Link…"

Oh, goddesses. She's talking to me.

"… what're you like?" My heart beat returned to normal. That wasn't a bad question. I thought it was going to be something about yesterday. "You're the only one I haven't really gotten to know yet, so could you tell me a bit about yourself?"

Only one? I guess she has class with everyone else.

I sat up straighter and looked to the side of her. "I.. I'm from Ordon Village, but I was adopted by my Uncle Rusl so I live in Kakariko." Wait, crap. "Well I know where you live! I talked to you last night, remember?" Everyone at the table turned and stared at me. I guess I've got some explaining to do.

"Oh yeah… I guess it'd just slipped my mind." Real smooth, man. "I don't really know what else to say about myself. I guess you just have to get to know me." When I finished I looked into her eyes. Goddesses, they were so beautiful.

"Well, I guess so!" She smiled and started talking to Lulu.

This girl was going to be the death of me.

After lunch, I walked into Calculus. The way my schedule worked out, I always had it after lunch. I took my seat in the back and waited for the rest of the class to show up.

Scratch that, I waited for Zelda to show up.

A few kids walked in before she did. I took this time to just look at her. I know that sounds a bit creepy, but I hadn't really seen her today. I only saw her top half during lunch.

She looked amazing. She was wearing a short sleeve, tight pink shirt with light blue jeans. It may have looked plain to some people, but I thought she looked beautiful.

She took her seat next to me. "Hi Link!" She seemed excited. "Hi Zelda." I said it with less enthusiasm, but she could tell I was happy. I was exceptionally happy. I might actually talk to her a bit today.

I need to initiate the conversation. "So Zelda," She turned and looked at me with a small smile. "How have your classes been? And how do you like Hyrule?" Two big questions. Good job, Link. I gave myself a mental pat on the back.

"Ummm… I really like my classes so far. I have plenty of friends in them even though I just came here! Some are sort of boring, but I don't really mind. It's a lot nicer than my previous school. Everyone was so uptight and full of themselves there. I hated it. That kind of answers your question about how I like Hyrule. Everyone is a lot more… I don't know… real here. Back in Labrynna, it was just a bunch of snotty rich kids and their wealthy parents. So overall, I really love it here so far."

Man, beefy answer. I liked it though. It gave me a chance to talk to her. "That's great! You'll love Castle Town on a Friday or Saturday night. Everything is buzzing, even at a time like 3 A.M!" I tried to sound a bit more excited in order to match her tone. This was going well.

"Oh cool! We should go sometime!"

What.

Did she just?

"You know, with our friends!"

Shit.

I tried to not let what just happened affect my tone in the conversation. "Oh… yeah, definitely!" She smiled and was about to continue but our teacher walked in.

The class went by quickly for me since I easily understood the material. Zelda on the other hand seemed to be having a bit of trouble. The class ended and everyone packed up to head to head home. I need to ask Zelda if she's alright with the material.

"Hey Zelda?" She spun around from packing up. "Yeah, Link, what is it?" How do I word this? "Umm… are you okay with the material we were learning today? I'm not trying to be mean! You just seemed to be trying really hard to understand and I know what that's like." She dropped her shoulders a little bit and let her head hang. "I don't get this stuff at all. I think I need to see the teacher after school, but I hate talking with teachers! They are so boring!"

"You know, I could help you if you want."

WHAT DID I JUST DO? Dammit Link! You just asked her out! She's going to think I'm just like all of those guys that want to get in her pants! Dammit Sheik! Why did you have to say that?

"You'd really do that?!" She smiled widely.

Oh my goddesses.

"Uhhh… yeah, of course. I don't want you to have trouble, and you said you want to get to know me a bit. I thought it'd be a good idea."

Is this actually working?

"It's a great idea! Does tomorrow work for you?" Wow. It worked. I didn't even mean to ask her, and it worked. "Yeah, tomorrow's great!"

"Okay, see you then! I'll have Saria text you my number tonight! Bye Link!" And on that note, Zelda walked out of the classroom in a great mood.

I just stood in there for a minute or two.

I'm seeing Zelda after school tomorrow.

* * *

A/N: Alright! I hope you liked it! The next one should be out in a week but if you review a lot, it'll be out much faster! Thank you!


	4. Looking Back

_**There and Back Again**_

**Chapter 4: Looking Back**

Despite not being able to fall asleep last night, I slept like a baby. I'd never been so excited to go to school before. Why?

I've got a study date with Zelda.

While it may not seem like much, it's the first step. I still can't believe I asked her! It just came flying out of my mouth before I could even think about it. Thinking back on it, I must've sounded like an idiot. She'd probably received over ten invitations to go out from other guys already.

My alarm went off, but I've been up for half an hour. School was probably goint to drag by.

"Link? You up?" I heard Rusl calling to me. He was always my back up alarm clock. I could always count on him to have my back. I got up off my bed and opened my door. That was our universal signal for telling each other we were awake. Rusl must've seen my door because he walked back into the kitchen.

I walked down to the kitchen and grabbed a small bite to eat. I must look really tired because Rusl piped in. "You look off today, Link? You alright?" Rusl was busy making lunches but that didn't mean he didn't have time to talk to his nephew.

I let out a long sigh. "I didn't sleep well last night. I had a lot on my mind." I figeted in my seat and twirled my spoon through my cereal.

Rusl let out a small chuckle and put his hands on his hips. "Lot on your mind huh?" He let out another laugh. "You were thinking about her weren't you?" He had a small smirk on.

I sighed again. "It's that obvious, huh?" I wasn't going to hide it. I didn't care if he knew. He usually gave pretty good advice. "Yes, it's that obvious. What're you worrying about?" Rusl finished making Aryll's lunch and started on mine.

"I'm helping her with some school work after school today and… well I'm just nervous, that' s all." Rusl perked up. "A study date? That's fantastic!" I felt my cheeks flush.

"It's not a date! I'm just helping her." Rusl crossed her arms over his chest. "Is that so? Well, then why're you so worried?"

He got me. I definitely wanted this to be a date, so I guess I've been thinking about it so much that I've started to believe that it actually is one.

"You're right. Thanks Rusl." I grabbed my just finished lunch from Rusl and walked upstairs.

I showered and grabbed my lunch before heading out. I'm sorry, but the school lunches literally tasted like rubber. I started bringing lunch in my Freshman year after I found something black in a chicken patty.

I said my goodbyes to my family and went to get in my car. I picked up Sheik and we got to school earlier than yesterday. I let out a sigh of relief when we pulled in.

"You gonna be alright?" I kept my eyes closed and relaxed my head against the headrest. "I'm gonna be just fine." I smiled slightly after that.

I was getting out of the car when I got a text from Saria. It said "555-231-1986."

Zelda's phone number

Score.

I decided not to tell Sheik seeing how he'd probably freak out or something. Today was going to be a good day.

Just as I wen to reach for the door though, my hand started to ache. I grunted and grasped my hand.

"You alright man?" To be honest, I had no clue why my hand hurt. "Yeah, it's probably just a random ache. Happens all the time." Sheik nodded and continued to walk.

The school day went by pretty fast. I texted Zelda in English to make sure that the study date was still on. She responded with a 'yes' and a smiley face.

Sweet.

I'm not going to lie, I've been nervous all day. It felt like I was meant to meet her.

Wow, that doesn't sound weird or anything.

Zelda didn't show at lunch. According to Saria, she was skipping to make up a test in Physics. How could she have missed a test already?

After school I walked around the building to the library. I may as well just stay and wait for her. I greeted the librarians and sat down at one of the tables in the back. I pulled my books out and decided to get a jump on my homework while I waited.

Ten minutes went by and there was no sign of Zelda. I'm sure she's just saying bye to her friends or something. You know, girl stuff.

Thirty minutes went by and now I was done with my small amount of homework. Why hasn't she texted me? Should I text her? Would she think that's weird?

A very familiar feeling of dread churned in my stomach. She probably just forgot and got together with some of her friends.

An hour passed. One of the librarians came up to me and informed me that they were going to be closing for the day in a few minutes. I nodded in understanding and gathered my things.

I didn't want to admit it, but Zelda had blown me off. I guess I'll be spending some time on the roof tonight.

I walked to the student parking lot with my shoulders held low and my head leaning downward. Why would she do that? I mean, it's not like we're dating or anything but that was just outright rude.

Now I was starting to get angry at her. I shook off any dark thoughts towards her and decided to just drive home.

When I get home, I heard Rusl call out to me. "So, how's my ladies man?" I stopped in place and waited for him to come see me. He appeared with a smile, but quickly changed his expression when he saw the look on my face. I simply shook my head and walked upstairs.

Before I got to my room, I heard Aryll call out to me. "Hey Link! Do you want to-"

"No." I slammed my door.

I dropped my bag on the floor and fell on my bed. Why do girls have to be so difficult?

I had a lot of questions for myself. Why do I care about this so much? Like I said before, I hardly know her. Her father practically hates me too. Why am I thinking that I'd be allowed to see her anyways?

I groaned and turned on the TV to play some video games. I popped Halo 4 into my Xbox and booted up the multiplayer.

"There's nothing like some classic Slayer to cool off." I played for an hour or so before getting bored with it. Even killing things gets boring. I shut off the my Xbox and switched the TV to cable. I couldn't find anything interesting on so I decided to watch the news. I'm so cool, huh?

I walked over to my computer, only listening to my TV as background noise. I surfed the web for a while, mostly watching people play vidoe games online. After about thirty minutes, something on the TV caught my attention.

"-of you interested in the Legend of the Hero of Time, stay tuned to hear about an incredible new development in the mystical tale." I dropped everything and waited patiently for the news to came bck on. I've always been a history buff. Most people don't believe in those legends these days, but I've always felt as though they actually occurred. There's too much evidence in my opinion, but I guess we won't ever know the entire truth. Just the idea of the world being saved my one man is exhilarating. It's inspiring and it makes me strive to be the best that I can.

I got up and grabbed my book on the subject from my bedside table. It was titled 'The Legend of a Desert King, a Princess, and a Forest Boy.' I skimmed through some pages while I waited.

The news came back with a 'breaking news' title to grab my attention. What story isn't breaking news these days?

I turned up the volume and listened intently.

"This just in, there has been an astounding new development in the legendary tale of the Hero of Time. For years, scientists and researchers have been trying to prove that this tale is more than just a legend. For those of you who aren't informed on the gravity of that confirmation, let us go to our chief analyst, Tarin Koholint to explain it."

Has it finally been proven? If so, it'll finally shut up the protestors.

"Hello everyone, I'm Tarin Koholint. For over fifteen years now my team and I have been working extensively to discover new details that will help to prove this legend true and confirm the reality of the Triforce. Most Hylians still believe in this ancient relic and we're so close to proving it exists. If we can prove that there was a Hero of Time, we can show all of Hyrule that we live in a much more interesting world than we thought..."

Yeah I get that. Just get to the news already!

"… and that's exactly what we're about to do. Well, this discovery doesn't completely prove that the Hero once existed, it strongly encourages the notion. My team and I have discovered the ruins of the fabled Temple of Time in the Faron Woods to the south of Hyrule Castle Town. There we discovered not only the ruins, but countless pieces of art of the ancient sages. For those of you who are unaware, there were seven sages who assisted the Hero in his battle against the Evil King. We also recovered art of the Gerudo Thief. These works of art weren't just drawings or paintings… they were full stain glass murals. They were so incredibly detailed that it makes us wonder how these people couldn't have existed!"

So… the sages are real. I figured as much. I've believed in all of this stuff for years now. Most people believe the legend is fabricated but the Triforce is real. All of my friends make fun of me for believing the legend, but I don't care. This is truly remarkable! I have to tell Rusl!

I got up in a hurry and ran downstairs. I was about to open my mouth when Rusl called out to me.

"Link! Are you watching this?"

I almost laughed. Of course he already knows. He's as big of a supporter as I am. "Yeah, I was just coming down to tell you about it! Amazing, huh?" I watched Rusl stare at the television. He looked truly shocked. "I mean I've always believed it, but to actually be getting so close... this is incredible."

He looked as though he was tearing up. My Uncle Rusl didn't only believe in the legend because he thought it was right, he believed it because his ancient ancestor, the man Rusl was named after, claims to have known the Hero himself. His ancestor's claim has been passed down for generations, so to finally be seeing some confirmation; I can't blame Rusl for his excitement.

I walked over to him and put my hand on his back. He looked up to me and smiled.

"Your father would have loved to see this."

My father was probably an even bigger supporter than Rusl. He's the reason why I became so interested in the legend. I wanted to make him happy and over time, I learned to love and believe the tale.

I simply nodded and walked back to my room. It helped to have something new on my mind since I was still hurting from the events of today. I checked my phone again, hoping Zelda had texted me.

Nothing.

You know what? Screw her. She stood me up today and refuses to answer any of my texts. Whatever. I'm not going to stress over somebody who isn't worth it.

Tomorrow in school, I'm going to give her a piece of my mind.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long wait. Life's been pretty busy. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. There are more to come soon. Reviews are much appreciated.


	5. Confrontation

_**There and Back Again**_

**Chapter 5: Confrontation**

From time to time when I'm up on the roof, I really enjoy star gazing. I don't know what it is about them, but they have such a feeling of tranquility and peace that really puts my mind at ease. Sadly though, tonight it was cloudy so I couldn't see the stars shining beauty.

Figures.

I was just having one of those days. The excitement about the Hero of Time story certainly made my day, but I'd have rather had Zelda not blow me off after school.

No, I'm not dwelling on that. Today was a day of realization. I don't need to burden myself with pointless stressors in my life. It's senior year! I'm supposed to be enjoying my final few months with my friends… and that's what I'm going to do.

I picked myself up from the roof and made my way down, scaling the garage as usual. What time was it?

9:23 PM.

Okay, that gives me a little time to relax before bed. I went inside and fired up my Xbox. I texted Sheik and asked if he wanted to join me in a game of Spartan Ops on Halo 4. He responded with 'hell yeah' and joined my party.

I hooked up my Turtle Beach headset and adjusted the audio to right volume. I had to turn the bass down on the headset. I had it raised since I was playing Skyrim before, and you can't just not pump up the bass when you play that game.

"Sup Lonk!" I heard him chuckle over the mic. For some reason, I don't know why, he got enjoyment out of butchering my name. I guess it was all in good fun.

"Hey man. You want to play the first or second set of missions?" I unplugged my headset so I could hear Sheik through the TV and got up to grab a bottle of water from my mini fridge. Now that I think about it, I have it pretty good here. I'll have to thank Rusl for everything he's done for us soon. I do so every once in a while to make sure he knows we care for and appreciate him.

"Uhh… yeah." Yeah? I asked him an either or question. I laughed to myself and sat back down in my large bean bag chair. "Yeah? I asked you one or the other."

"Oh, right. Sorry." We both laughed. "Let's play the new ones. I'm sick of playing the same missions on legendary every time. It's getting too easy."

I was happy with his choice. It definitely was getting easier to complete the same missions, especially since we memorized where each enemy spawned. That or we just have too much free time. Yeah, it's probably the second one.

"Alright, I'll start it up." We watched the countdown start and our private two man game started.

We started off pretty well, blowing through the first two missions with ease. It was the third mission that was really hitting us hard.

"Goddamn Promethean Knights! Die!" I would've laughed, but I was too busy getting my ass handed to me to respond. We both ended up dying, thus restarting the level.

"Dammit Sheik, you need to stop rushing the enemy! We need to stay back to start, take it slow." Normally I wasn't a fan of shooters, but I really enjoy Halo. It's not your typical First Person Shooter where you just mutilate everybody. This game had an amazing story and even though Halo 4's multiplayer wasn't has polished as Halo 2 or 3's, it's still a lot of fun.

"Okay, I got it. I'll lay back with the sniper and try to one shot them. If I miss their head and hit their body, use your Battle Rifle to finish them." Sheik is a true Halo veteran. He's always been a bit better than me since he started playing a year before I did. Rusl wouldn't let me get the games until I was 12. You may think that's a young age but the most vulgar and violent part about Halo is the fact that they use realistic weapons and some foul language. I showed Rusl this and he allowed me to play seeing how he knew I wasn't going to become some violent, mess of a child by shooting virtual aliens.

We were just starting the mission again when I heard Sheik ask me a question. "Oh! So Lunk, how did your study date with Zelda go?"

Shit.

I held up for a second as the events from earlier rushed back into my head.

"Umm… I don't really want to talk about it dude." Sheik wasn't the best listener in the world and he'd often mock me about things I was sensitive about.

Yes, I'm a guy and I'm sensitive, deal with it.

"Oh come on man! It couldn't have gone that bad!" I remained quiet and continued to play. I was about to dash into a flood of enemies when I realized Sheik's Spartan had stopped.

"Look, I know I'm not the best guy to talk to… but if something happened, you need to talk about it… and not to Saria. She's a girl and Zelda's friend. She'll be torn between whom to side with."

Wow. That was really nice of Sheik. I let out a long sigh and sipped my water.

Screw it. It's better than keeping it bottled in.

"She stood me up."

I felt my heartbeat accelerate. Admitting that she did really sucked. It was like somebody drop kicked me in the stomach.

There was silence on both ends for a while. I guess Sheik was at a loss for words. Finally, he broke the tension.

"I… umm… I really don't know what to say. Well, other than that she's a complete bitch." After Sheik said that I felt as though I needed to defend her. I began to say something but immediately stopped when I realized what I was doing.

I need to let her go now before I actually get attached to her. It'll be easier if I stop caring sooner rather than later.

"Yeah… I don't understand what happened." I let out a long sigh after saying that. I took another sip of my water.

"Well, try and talk to her about it tomorrow. If she's a bitch about it, then she's a bitch. Don't stress over it. She isn't worth your time." I almost laughed at that. Sheik was so forward about everything. He didn't care what people thought of him at all.

"I guess you're right. I'll do that. Thanks, Sheik." I had a small smile on my face after that. I honestly wasn't expecting any wise words to come out of his mouth, but he proved me wrong.

"Don't mention, bud. Now, let's fire up some Classic Slayer! I'm in the mood to really smoke some noobs!"

I got offline around midnight. I stayed up longer than I had intended to, but I was having fun so whatever.

I checked my phone one last time before heading to bed. Still no text from Zelda. Maybe I should ask Saria about this whole thing?

I don't know. I'll text her tomorrow depending on how I feel.

The day dragged on slowly, almost as if time was keeping me from confronting Zelda. We didn't have Calculus today, so I was going to have to wait until lunch. Now that I'm thinking about it, talking to her at lunch might be a bad idea. It'll be in front of everybody and it could get ugly. I'm probably over thinking this as always but I think I should wait until after school.

I hardly listened to anything the teachers were saying. My English teacher actually called me out on daydreaming but I really didn't care.

Well, it was that time of the day. Lunch.

Goddesses, my life is turning into a freakin' teenage chick flick.

I walked into lunch as casually as I could. I didn't want to look too upset in case I decided to wuss out. I approached our table and sat down on the corner of the bench next to Sheik and with Mikau across from me. Okay, this is actually good. I won't be staring at Zelda all lunch.

Just as I said that mentally, Zelda walked in and neared where we were sitting. I removed my eyes from her perfect figure. Shit. Stop it! I looked away from her and just ate my lunch quietly. Sheik saw my discomfort and quickly helped me out.

"Hey Link, so I was thinking about our last few matches last night. Didn't those remind you of our clan days?" Sheik looked at me with hopeful eyes. He really was trying to help.

I couldn't help but smile as memories of our clan days came back into my mind. Sheik and I used to be in a Halo 2 clan with some really good players. We were the runts of the liter but it was still a ton of fun. He and I even considered tournaments back then, but life was always too busy.

"Yeah, that was the most fun I've had playing in a long time. We should fire up Halo 3 tonight and play some Team Doubles! Just you and me, like the old days." Man, finally something to look forward to after school. I've been getting so sick of just going home and doing nothing.

I'd almost forgotten about all of my life issues when Mikau did the worst thing possible.

"So Zelda, did you get to know Link yet? I heard from Mido that he was supposed to help you out yesterday?" He glanced between Zelda and me.

I froze.

I couldn't look up. I wanted to know what Zelda was doing but I was literally stuck in place. Then, I heard her say something.

Here comes my answer.

"I… uhh... w-we didn't actually meet yesterday."

No shit, Sherlock.

I couldn't see him but I knew Mikau probably looked confused. "Really? Why is that?" I could feel everyone looking between her and I. Up glanced up for a second to meet her eyes.

She looked scared. I almost felt empathy for her.

"I… I-I couldn't make it. I had other plans."

There it was.

I looked back down, feeling defeated.

"Other plans? With who?" Oh boy. That was Sheik's voice. He's going to be relentless.

"With… with my b-boyfriend."

Everyone started buzzing instantly. The girls started squealing with excitement while the guys looked at each other in disgust.

I just wanted to crawl into a corner and never come out. She freakin' made plans with me when she had a boyfriend. She freakin' led me on. I honestly wanted to be easy on her, but this was too much.

I got up.

Everyone except for Sheik stopped talking after they saw me get up. "You bitch! You led Link on!"

Okay, time to go.

"Sorry guys, I-I'm going to go." I put the green hood on my sweatshirt up and left the cafeteria.

I didn't even care that I was making a scene. I didn't care that I had physics last period. I was leaving.

I felt like a used piece of trash.

It's like she picked me up out of the mud, saw something 'more important', and then threw me back in the filth.

Sheik could tell me the details of what happened later.

Right now, I just wanted to disappear.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for all of the positive feedback. It inspired me to update this quickly. The more reviews there are, the more inclined I feel to update. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are enjoying this story in general. I know the Zelink moments aren't happening yet, but I prefer when authors take their time to develop the relationship and show that these things don't just happen instantly. Again, thank you. I really appreciate it.


	6. Beyond History

_**There and Back Again**_

**Chapter 6: Beyond History**

I just wanted to die. I've never been so embarrassed in my life.

How could she do this? She seemed like such a nice person, yet she turned out to just be another bitch. Literally every girl I've ever liked turned into a total bitch at some point.

Was it me? Did I come on too strong?

No. She sounded way too excited for me to have come on too hard. She sounded genuinely interested.

What the hell happened?

I've been sitting on my roof for three hours now just trying to comprehend what went wrong. I'm not even in a relationship with the girl, yet this hurts so bad. I've never experienced such a brutal heartache in my life.

What do I do now?

I was lying against the chimney as usual. Again, the roof had come to my rescue. I don't even understand it. I'm tired of running from things like this, but I couldn't go anywhere else. This was my place to be whenever I was upset.

Rusl told me a few years ago that we all have that one place we go whenever we're upset or in pain. He's come to know that the roof was mine. His seemed to be his chair. He spent an awfully long amount of time in it back when we were children. I'd always thought it was because he missed his brother, my father.

My father was a gentle, yet courageous man. He wasn't afraid of anything. He could stand up to anybody and was always prepared to do what he had to for the benefit of his family. We moved a lot when I was young due to my father switching jobs constantly. He hated moving but like I said, he wanted what was best for our family. We never could settle for very long. This house, Rusl's house, is the one I've lived in the longest. I miss them every day of my life. If only I could have their guidance right now, I might be able to get through this.

He and my mother had an amazing relationship. I remember thinking that I wanted to have a relationship as good as theirs back when I was just a kid.

But I guess that might not happen.

They were always kind to each other, always being understanding and never fighting with one another. They told me that if I waited long enough, I would be connected with the one I was destined to be with.

I was starting to question that. It's been nearly 18 years now and I haven't come close. I mean 18 is still young, but I can't help but worry about such things.

I've been alone for too long now.

I need somebody.

Just as I said that, my phone started to ring. It was Sheik. I clicked 'Answer' on my iPhone and held it up to my ear.

"Look dude, not now." I started to take the phone away from my ear when I heard him call out to me.

"No dude! Wait just a sec!" He sounded desperate, almost as though it was really important.

I put the phone back up to my ear. "I'm listening." I heard him panting. Why was he out of breath? Is he in trouble?

"Turn on the news!" What? I jumped to my feet and ran to get off the roof. I didn't even bother climbing down. I just leaped and rolled to help break my fall. I ran inside and turned on the news.

"-and despite decade after decade of searching for the legendary blade, the location of the fabled Master Sword has been found."

Th-this… it must be a trick. No way. It's not possible. They couldn't have!

"After the Temple of Time was found yesterday morning, Mr. Koholint's team has been working non-stop to find any remnants of the legendary sword. Just as they were about to give up and move on to other, less exciting parts of the temple, a doorway was investigated."

A doorway? What does that mean? Do they physically have the sword?

"When Koholint's team entered the site, they literally walked straight past the doorway which held the evidence they were searching for. There are two massive doors just standing a few hundred feet from the back of the temple and by opening these doors, we are shown the most astounding evidence that he Hero once existed.

Wait, that doesn't make any sense. How would opening a door change anything if the walls around it were already gone?

"Now, we go to Mr. Koholint for the full analysis of the situation."

"Thank you, Anju. Hello again, I'm Mr. Koholint. Today, we discovered something that completely and ultimately proves the theory of the Hero of Time."

Oh my goddesses.

"By opening these two large doors that stand before the Temple of Time's ruins, we are able to literally travel back in time, thus allowing us to see the temple in its full glory."

Back in time? Are you kidding me?

"We can say with full confidence that this is no joke. Magic, or whatever you wish to call it, exists in our beautiful land of Hyrule."

I knew it! "Sheik, do you realize what this means?!" I heard him laugh on the other end. "Just keep watching. I've seen this. They showed it to us at school. This is a rebroadcast." I did as I was told and listened intently.

"So, after discovering that this door was more than it appeared to be, my team and I entered the 'portal'. We felt a strange, other worldly feeling overtake us and we suddenly appeared in the Temple of Time as it appeared hundreds of years ago. What we found next will absolutely blow your minds. We physically walked to the back of the Temple of Time where we were met with the presence of an enormous door."

The Door of Time.

"The Door of Time. This legendary door is said to hold the power to repel all evil. Just in front of the door is an alter, one extremely similar in design and detail to the one depicted in the legend. We believe this alter is the key to opening the Door of Time and gaining access to the Temple of Time's secret back room."

This is unbelievable. This is astounding! In two days, we have nearly proven the legend to be true! The Hero existed!

"Sadly, this is all I can say. Everything after this is confidential. Thank you for your time. I'm sure you'll hear from us again soon. Until then, I'm Mr. Koholint."

I turned off the TV. I couldn't help but stare at the blank screen. This legend had gone beyond history. It was now a part of our everyday lives.

"Link? You there?" Sheik definitely had a smile on his face. He knew he'd just made my day. "Yeah… I'm here." I still couldn't believe it. What was Rusl going to say? Could it really be true that his ancient ancestor was related this Hero?

"Well… I guess you were always right dude. I'm sorry I ever doubted you. The legend of the Hero of Time is fact."

Those words felt so surreal to hear. I was finally the one who was right. I was no longer the laughing stock of my friend group.

I'm investigating this as soon as possible. The security down there is probably air tight right now though so I'll have to go once all the hype dies down a bit.

I talked to Sheik for a few more minutes, explaining to him that I was grateful for his help. I then hung up and walked up to my room. I flung myself onto my bed with my face shoved in my pillows.

The legend being confirmed was amazing and all, but I couldn't help feeling depressed.

I was still upset about what Zelda had done to me. How could she be so heartless?

No, I'm not getting into this again. I'll figure it out later. Maybe I can talk to her tomorrow after school or in calculus. I still need to ask Sheik about how lunch went. Maybe I'll ask him while we're playing Halo tonight. But still… there had to be a reason.

There had to be…

It was the same thing for me every time. Relationships constantly fell apart even before they began. I don't know what it is about me but girls just seem to have trouble staying with me or interested in me.

I've been there so many times…

There and back again.

* * *

A/N: First off, I want to apologize for the shortness of this chapter. I can't really make it longer since the next chapter has a lot to it and combining the two wouldn't make the story flow well. If you haven't guessed already, Link is a reflection of me. All of the situations around him, though over dramatized, have happened to me in some way, shape, or form. Maybe that's why I'm enjoying this so much. Either way, I'm very pleased with the way this story is turning out and I hope you'll join me for the ride. Reviews help to push me to whip out another chapter, so please leave one if you can. Thank you.


	7. Answers

_**There and Back Again**_

**Chapter 7: Answers**

I woke up the next morning feeling different. I'd gone to bed still upset about the whole Zelda situation, but now I just felt angry. I went over my feelings while I was in the shower.

I was pissed.

I'm done being a sensitive pansy about this whole thing. I'm going to school and I'm going to let Zelda have it. I need to ask Sheik about what happened after I left. We never played last night because he was slammed with homework, so I'll just ask him when I pick him up.

I walked down the stairs in a hurry. I just wanted to get out of the house so I could tell Sheik about my sudden mood change. He'll be pleased with me.

I grabbed my lunch, said goodbye to Rusl, jumped in my car, and departed for Sheik's house. When I got there, I was met by him waiting outside the door for me. I guess he wants to talk too.

He got in and threw his bag in the back. "Hey dude, we need to talk about yesterday. I don't care if you're still upset about it but we-" I cut him off.

"Dude, I know. I'm not upset anymore. I'm just straight up pissed with her. She's a bitch." The look on Sheik's face was priceless. He never looked so happy in his entire life. "That's my boy! Screw sensitivity! Just rage about it!" I laughed and pulled out of his driveway.

"Okay, so what happened at lunch yesterday after I left? You'd just called Zelda a bitch right?" Sheik folded his arms across his chest. Clearly he was pleased with the way it turned out. "Haha, that's not all man. Right after you left, all hell broke loose. We won't be sitting with the girls for a while."

Is he serious? What the hell happened? "Wait what? Why? What happened?" My heart was racing. I didn't want this. I still liked hanging with Saria and the other girls.

"Cool your jets dude. Let me explain." I nodded my head, sighed, and relaxed for a minute. "Okay, here's what happened…"

"_You bitch! You led Link on!" Everyone looked at Sheik, clearly shocked by what he had said. Suddenly, Link got up and just walked out. Mikau got up and tried to go get him but Sheik sat him down. "No, he needs to go." _

"_Did you just call Zelda a bitch? How dare you!" Midna blurted out at Sheik. "Are you kidding me? She accepted a date while she had a boyfriend! Why the fuck would you do that!?" Sheik was fuming. _

"_Dude, calm down a minu-" Mido tried to intervene but Sheik threw him back down. "I will not calm down! My best friend just got fucking played because that whore led him on? How would you like it, huh? Being led on like that?" Zelda just sat there, tears forming in her eyes. She looked genuinely guilty. _

_All of a sudden, she broke into tears and threw her head on the table. Sheik didn't stop though. "Yeah, it'd hurt pretty bad wouldn't it? You're pathetic. I'm happy Link isn't going to waste his time on you. He's been hurt too many times to deserve to put up with your fake shit." Sheik got up and walked out of the cafeteria. A teacher tried to stop him, but after explaining the situation, let him go. Mikau got up and ran after him while Mido sat with the girls uncomfortably. _

_Zelda was still crying._

Oh my goddesses. "She never even answered you? She didn't even try to defend herself?" Sheik shook his head. "No, she was a coward. Today, you need to go up to her and give her a piece of your mind. Don't even think that she's had enough because this storm is just starting." He still looked angry. Sheik isn't going to let this go.

Something just occurred to me. "Wait, what about Mido and Mikau? Where do they stand on this entire thing?" Sheik shifted in his seat and reached for the water bottle in his bag. "They're both on our side."

Both? But Mido is dating Saria… and Saria is best friends with Zelda. "Even Mido?" Sheik sighed. "Yes, even Mido. He and Saria are in a bit of a fight now because she's taken Zelda's side."

All of a sudden I felt as though I'd just been punched in the stomach. My childhood best friend was on Zelda's side?

"That makes no sense. Why would Saria go against me?" Now I was really mad. Sheik looked over to me and gave me a pat on the back. "Don't be too hard on her. She's in a really difficult position. It's likely that she's siding with Zelda in order to preserve that friendship. I'm sure she thinks that you'll understand and won't be mad at her. It makes sense to me."

Whoa. That was really analytical of Sheik. That's probably exactly what she's doing. I'll text her later to make sure. I don't know why I didn't think to talk to her earlier. She's always my go to person with these situations.

"You're probably right. I'll just text her later to make sure."

The rest of the ride was pretty quiet. I told him that I wanted to think about what I was going to say to Zelda once I saw her. Am I really going to make this girl cry for the second time in two days?

Hell yeah I am. She deserves it.

We pulled into the student parking lot and made our way into the school. Ever since we'd started getting here earlier, Mr. Gaebora wasn't a worry anymore. He always glared at me in the hallway since he couldn't do anything about it. I enjoy rubbing it in his face, so I always greet him with a big smile and an

extra loud 'hello.'

The day dragged on horribly. Each class felt like it took an eternity to end. Goddesses, the Hero of Time probably finished his quest in how long school took. It's so pointless to keep us here 7 hours a day.

After five classes, lunch finally came. I wasn't worried about any Zelda encounters seeing how we no longer say together. When I walked in I saw the two groups completely divide. Even Mido and Saria separated for lunch, though I felt like that was an act.

I sat down next to Mikau with Mido and Sheik across from me. "Hey Mido, is Saria really siding with Zelda?" I hated to be so upfront but I needed to know. "No, she's with us dude. She's sitting with them in order to get some insight. She's like a little spy!" We all laughed at that one.

But wow, a spy? That's such a good idea! "Has she gotten any good intel yet?" Mikau laughed at my question. "Intel? This isn't an episode of CSI man." I laughed again. "I know, but it's sort of a secret operation. So, any intel?"

"She told me that she knows there's more to what happened than we know but that's it. She won't tell me what's really going on." Interesting. So Zelda does have more to her story than she let on yesterday.

"Good. I'm going to confront her about it today after calculus." I'm not worried anymore. I'm ready to face her and hear whatever she has to say to me.

Lunch ended and I made my way to calculus. I took a seat and pulled out my notebook. We were supposed to have a quiz today so that should help to keep any awkwardness down.

Zelda walked in with her head slightly hung and her shoulders held low. Goddesses, she still looked guilty. She took her seat next to me and quickly burrowed her face in a book.

Hmm. She doesn't seem like the reading type. It's probably just so she doesn't have to talk to me or look at me.

Class went on as usual and we took our quiz. Every now and again, Zelda would look to her side to try and see if I was glaring at her, which I was. I made it a point to make her feel guilty about what she did. There was no excuse for her behavior.

The quiz was simple just like I had expected it to be. After we finished, the teacher let us sit quietly or put or heads down. I took out a piece of paper and started to write a note.

Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of the day. I sprung to my feet and walked past Zelda's desk. I slapped a the note I was writing down in front of her so she didn't miss it. I didn't even make eye contact with her.

The note read:

_Meet me outside by my car in the student parking lot in 15 minutes. You know what it looks like from the time you were at my house. You could at least show up this time. _

I turned around to see Zelda reading it. Objective one, check. Now I need her to actually show up.

I got the necessary books for the homework I had out of my locker and then proceeded outside. I made my way to my car, through my backpack inside, and told Sheik - who was waiting for me - to go back inside for a few minutes.

"Aw. I don't get to see you go nuts on Zelda?" I shook my head no so be walked inside with his shoulders slouched.

I checked the clock 2:17. She should be here in three minutes. If she doesn't show up...

But just as I said that, there she was. I was genuinely surprised she showed up. I expected her to run again.

I took several deep breaths. Okay, you can do this. It's time to show this bitch what's up.

She was almost here.

Here we go.

She walked up to me and paused. She looked so scared. Her cheeks were red and her eyes watery. She was almost trembling. What the hell was going on? I'm not that intimidating! Whatever. I'm just going to go through with it.

"You know, I really thought you were different. You seemed like a nice girl. Very different from the girls I've been with in the past. But you just had to prove me wrong, didn't you?"

She continued to look down at her feet.

"Who are you? You seemed like such a good person back when you were helping me after I fell and when you were playing with Aryll. She looks up to you! I couldn't get her to stop talking about how much fun she had talking to another girl! I-I... I don't know. Do you even have anything to say?"

Zelda began shaking more and more. I suddenly felt empathy for her. Why am I feeling guilty? I didn't do anything wrong, she did!

Then it dawned on me. This isn't who I am. I'm not the kind of guy to verbally attack somebody.

But suddenly, while I was in the middle of my own inner turmoil, Zelda ran up to me and hugged me.

What's going on?

I just stood there for a moment with her arms wrapped around me. What do I do?

"I-I...I'm s-so sorry, L-Link. I never meant for this to happen. It'a not my

fault." She was hysterical now. I wrapped my arms around her in an attempt to console her. This was not at all what I was expecting.

I decided to question her again. "How is this not your fault?" She clearly felt terrible but I couldn't just forget what had happened.

She backed off of me and pulled herself together. "My boyfriend is the reason I couldn't see you."

Well, no shit. You think I didn't know that. I was about to open my mouth but she continued.

"And I know what you're thinking. But I had nothing to do with it. Once he found out that I was getting help from a guy, he lost his mind. He forced me to cancel and completely stop talking to you. If I didn't, he said he'd do bad things to me."

What? Okay, this changes everything. All of a sudden, Zelda was the victim. I felt all the pain from the past two days wash away as if it had never happened.

But now, I had to help Zelda. She's in a dark place and she needs my help.

"Zelda... I'm sorry." She snapped her head up at that. "You're sorry?" I didn't answer her. Instead, I walked up to her and pulled her into a hug. She accepted it. "H-how can you forgive me so easily?" I felt her start to get hysterical again.

"Zelda, it's okay. Stop crying. I forgave you because your story makes perfect sense. It explains why you couldn't say anything and why you couldn't tell me why you didn't show. You were being controlled by your boyfriend." I felt her sigh in relief.

She took a few deep breaths. I offered for her to sit down with me. We leaned up against my car. "Thank you, Link."

I smiled. "Don't mention it. Everything that happened these last few days, forget it. Water under the bridge. Now if you don't mind me asking, who's your boyfriend?"

She looked happy that I accepted her apology. It must've been a lot of weight off her shoulders. "My boyfriend said he doesn't want you to know who he is. I'm sorry, Link."

Doesn't want me to know? Is this guy scared or something? He must be pathetic. "Hey, don't worry about it. As long as you're feeling better, that's good enough for me." I smiled at her warmly and gazed into her beautiful blue eyes.

Great, now I like her again.

I helped her up and hugged her goodbye. She said she'd at least text me in secret in order to make up for what had happened. She told me she has to be the one to start the conversation though, just in case her boyfriend was around at the time.

I watched her walk to her car which was parked a few spots down from mine and waved goodbye. After she drove off, I called Sheik.

Not five seconds after my call, he came running out of the school. Oh man. I laughed. He ran up to me and started asking a billion questions.

"What happened? Did you yell at her? Did she cry? Is she still crying? Is she a bigger bitch than before? What happened, dude!?" He was out of breath.

I took a deep breath. "I told her I was sorry." And here it comes in 3... 2... 1...

"You did what!? Why the hell would you do that! She's a worthless whore! Where'd your backbone go!? You have no balls!" Oh goddesses this was going to go on forever.

"Dude! I have answers! Just get in the car." I laughed and got in. Sheik looked beyond confused. We got in and he just stared at me.

"Okay, it's not her fault." Sheik nearly blew up again. "What do you mean it's not-"

"Let me finish. It's not her fault because her boyfriend forced her to cancel the study session once he found out about it. Then he made her stop texting me. That's why she never showed up or heard from her. It's also why she looked so guilty." I sighed heavily. So much drama.

"How do you know she isn't lying?" That was a good point. She could've been... but no. No, she definitely wasn't. "No, she was way too hysterical. I've never seen a girl look so sad in her life. She felt horrible for what she did to me." Sheik nodded his head and accepted my answer.

"Okay okay but even if she did tell the truth, why didn't she just tell us in the first place instead of turning this into a freakin' high school drama show?" This one I knew I had the answer to. "Simple. She's clearly embarrassed of how she lets her boyfriend control her. I would be if I was a girl." Sheik sighed in disappointment.

"I guess you're right. Damn, her story is rock solid. I guess she really didn't do anything wrong." Wow, what a relief that was to hear.

I smiled and we drive home. I dropped him off departed for my house. Right after I was about to walk in my front door, I felt my phone vibrate.

It was a text message from Zelda. All it said was "Thank you for understanding :)"

I smiled to myself and walked in the door.

The drama was over.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I clearly love writing this story if I'm updating this quickly. I hope you're all enjoying this as much as I am. I actually wrote 75% of this chapter on my iPhone in class today because I wanted to get it out to you all so bad. This chapter is a real turning point in the story since Link and Zelda are now on good terms. It'll allow for some interesting things to occur. As always, please review. It'll take 30 seconds and it makes my day whenever I see a new one. New chapter soon? That's up to you guys. Thank you!


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